How much do department managers make in 2026?
Department managers are counted in the BLS first-line supervisors of retail sales workers series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 41-1011 national median as $48,520 a year ($23.33 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $33,120 and the top 10% at $77,080. Department management sits around the middle of that band, below full store managers and above shift-level supervision. The role owns a category within a store: its sales and margin, stock levels and ordering, merchandising and presentation, staff scheduling and training within the department, and the specialist product knowledge customers expect there. Category matters more than most people expect. Departments with technical product knowledge, fresh food handling, or high shrink exposure — electronics, pharmacy support, fresh and prepared food, tools and building materials — pay above general merchandise departments, because the operational demands and the consequences of getting it wrong are greater. Department size within a store is the other lever: in large-format retailers a department can turn over more than an entire small store, and pay tiers reflect that. The role is also the most common proving ground for store management, since it is where retailers first observe whether someone can hold accountability for a commercial result rather than executing a task list. Employment is projected to change by -5% through 2034 with roughly 125,100 openings a year. → Full department manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $48,520 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Department Managers earn a national median $48,520/yr ($23.33/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 41-1011); the P10 to P90 range is $33,120 to $77,080.
- Department management sits around the middle of the $33,120 to $77,080 band — below store managers, above shift-level supervision.
- Category drives pay: electronics, fresh and prepared food, tools and building materials pay above general merchandise for greater technical and operational demands.
- The role is the standard proving ground for store management, because it is where retailers first test accountability for a commercial result.
US Department Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do department managers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 41-1011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 41-1011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a department manager earn at each career stage?
Department pay follows category complexity and department turnover. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 41-1011.
By State
Which states pay department managers the most in 2026?
State figures are modeled estimates — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers salary-calculator state wage index — not BLS state observations. Department manager pay follows retailer banding and store format more than state wage levels, though minimum wage rises compress the gap to the staff supervised.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($55,800), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay department managers the most?
Metro figures are modeled — national median times state wage index times published metro index — not BLS MSA observations. Large-format stores with substantial departments concentrate in denser markets and carry higher pay tiers.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a department manager’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does department manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Department Managers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify department manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a department manager actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Department Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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